What We’re Reading

Thirteen Reason Why | Jay Asher

Rating:

This book comes with a warning. About not picking it up if you have places to be. Believe it. And add to the list: sleep. If you are at all insomnia-prone, do not get into bed and pick up this book. You’re not going to want to put it down. You might not be able to put it down.

Clay Jensen is having a bad week. Which is a massive understatement. But I don’t think he’d have accurate words to tell you how he feels, so I’m certainly not going to try.

It started when Hannah Baker failed to show up for school. It continued in the whispers and looks. The reactions, some of which seemed random, some which almost maybe made sense. It culminated in the package left at his front door. The one with his name on it. No return address. The brief excitement ended when he found a cassette player and popped in the first tape. And out came Hannah’s voice.

Hannah Baker lost control of her life. At least, she couldn’t seem to gain control of her life. Even once she realized what was going on. As it got worse, and oblivion seemed to be spiraling her way, she took it upon herself to document what had happened. From the beginning. Which in this case was her move to town. The fresh start that got off on the wrong foot, through no fault of her own, and never ceased to misstep.

She wrote a list. After a specific and yet random night which caused it all to collide, she wrote a list. All the connections. The events and the people. From that list she narrowed it down to 13. Thirteen key players. Thirteen people whose lives, in one way or another, will never be the same. Not just because Hannah Baker didn’t come to school. She also left them a message. A message they and 12 others will know. If they follow the rules. No tellling who could end up knowing if they don’t.

There’s another set of tapes. And a follower, making sure the first set gets around.

Clay, for his part, can hardly take it all in. From the first time he saw Hannah, he liked her. But for varied reasons, not the least of which were the rumors that began it all, he never tried. He was afraid to find out he might be wrong, he thought she’d never give him a chance. And then he nearly had one…only to lose it. And then he really lost it, because Hannah took it all away. No second chances.

As he makes his way through the tapes, there’s an incredible amount of disbelief. A lot of inability to process. And yet he perseveres. He plays all the tapes, beginning to end, in one sitting. Trying to understand. Shuddering at every new piece to slide into place. Trying to imagine how he can go back to school and face these people, whose reactions now make sense.

It’s as much because of Clay, as because of Hannah, that you won’t be able to stop reading. And while it might seem you could never be left feeling anything but despairing…it’s not true.

This about awareness. This is about change. And most of all, this is about hope.

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The Center of Winter | Marya Hornbacher

Rating:

This is not the book to read if you’re looking for a happy story. Which isn’t to say that it doesn’t end well, but it’s not going to leave you feeling uplifted and light.

Set in small town Minnesota, this is the story of a family. A mother who never quite wanted to be, a father who can’t quite get it right, and isn’t happy enough with what he has, a son who gets lost inside himself, and a daughter just trying to keep up. The story is told from ever side, each looking a little different.

Claire speaks to trying to cope first with a drunk, depressed husband, and then to life without him. Esau speaks to his time in the hospital, and to trying to cope with life outside of it. Kate speaks to all of it. Her missing brother, her lost father, her mother, lost in a different way. Trying to fit the pieces together.

The book is beautifully written, and seeing the story unfold through three sets of very separate eyes is…for sudden lack of a better term, eye-opening, to say the least. Fans of Hornbacher’s memoir will likely enjoy her foray into ficiton, as will anyone who appreciates a good book.

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